Ofsted chief says ‘watchdog is not responsible for welfare of headteachers’ | UK News

An Ofsted chief said they are ‘not responsible for the welfare of headteachers’ at an inquest into the death of Ruth Perry who is believed to have taken her own life following an inspection.

Ms Perry, 53, is understood to have killed herself in January this year after she was told the primary school she was head was downgraded from ‘outstanding’ to ‘inadequate’.

Her sister Julia Walters said Ms Perry had experienced ‘the worst day of her life’ after inspectors reviewed Caversham Primary School in Reading, Berkshire, last November.

She said that the family were in no doubt that she had taken her life as ‘a direct result’ of the pressure placed on her by the inspection.

But Christopher Russell, the national director for education at Ofsted, said: ‘Ofsted’s responsibility is to reduce the pressure on the headteacher, but the responsibility for the welfare of the headteacher lies with other organisations – such as the school’s governing body and the area’s local authority.’

But he added inspectors are ‘expected to manage an inspection so it minimises the stress and anxiety of the headteacher and other members of staff’.

Coroner Heidi Connor also asked Mr Russell about the consequences of an Ofsted inspection – particularly if a school is graded ‘inadequate’, as was the case with Caversham prior to Ms Perry’s death.

Mr Russell said: ‘Schools can be turned into academies following ‘inadequate’ reports by Ofsted”.’

‘If this is the case,’ Ms Connor said, ‘would the headteacher – and other teachers at the school – be at risk of losing their jobs?’

Mr Russell confirmed: ‘Yes, that can happen. We understand this can cause concern.’

He also defended the watchdog’s policy of giving schools 24 hours’ notice before inspections.

Mr Russell said when parents question the validity of Ofsted’s judgments, the reason they typically give is that the school was given notice of the inspection ahead of time.

‘The reason they typically give is that we give a school notice instead of just turning up,’ he said.

‘If we give lots of notice, we would have a situation where parents say, “Well, the school has known for weeks”.’

He added: ‘Giving a school more notice is potentially more stressful, I would argue.’

The comments come after Ofsted previously denied, whilst speaking at a pre-inquest review in July, that the manner in which the school inspection was carried out had contributed to Ms Perry’s death.

Ms Perry’s family have previously blamed the inspection for her death.

Following Ms Perry’s death, there were widespread calls for Ofsted to update its school ratings system, with headteachers leading the backlash.

In response, the Commons Education Select Committee announced an inquiry into concerns that the one-word ratings that Ofsted hands out to schools may not be conducive to helping schools improve.

Ofsted also announced a series of changes, including launching a consultation on reforms to the complaints system and giving schools more information around the timing of their inspections.

Caversham Primary School was reinspected by Ofsted on June 21 and 22 and a new report, which did not mention Ms Perry, rated it ‘good’ in all categories.

The report said that the school’s work to ‘address previous weaknesses’ had been ‘swift, thorough, and effective’.

The family of Ms Perry have said they hope her inquest will prevent further ‘avoidable’ deaths.

The inquest continues.

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